Arlo turned 4!

Arlo had big ideas about turning four....
He wanted all his friends to have capes to wear at the party and he wanted a "snowball" cake, "because it is winter time, Mama".

So, I indulged his requests and made 7 or 8 capes from scrap fabric (they were a big hit) and I made this delicious snowball cake, fashioned after the Hostess Snowball Snack Cake.


It was actually very easy to make, thanks to "Cook's Country" magazine and it was so yummy! Though I wasn't sure we'd have enough with all of Arlo's buddies at the party, so we bought some cupcakes, as well and I made little "4" pennants to make them a bit more festive.


The cake was a big hit....for everyone.


We blew up balloons with helium and they were also a big hit.


Arlo was given some amazing gifts including this "Arlo" doll hand made by Matt's mom. He was thrilled, as you can see, and "Arlo doll" is present every night in amongst Arlo's menagerie of bedtime "buddies", as Arlo calls them.


The kids received these silly glasses as a party favor...but as you can tell, the adults (and dogs) had just as much fun with them!


Lots of dress up and running around and even a special movie with popcorn...all in all a great 4th birthday!


At age 4, Arlo:

:: still requests cuddle time every night and I oblige. It is a special time where he and I talk about whatever he wants to talk about. Last night he "spelled" words and I told him what the "words" were. it was sweet.

:: weighs about 45 pounds and is about a head taller than Otis and a head smaller than Sam. Specific, I know, but we never measure the kids...we did just start a wall with their head heights labeled.

:: asks some pretty deep questions, such as, "Where did people come from?" and "If we are on this planet, could there be other people on other planets?" Intense.

:: is becoming quite helpful with Otis and in general around the house...and I mean helpful in a real way

:: still sleeps with his menagerie of "buddies" including, but not limited to, baby, ducky, blankie (a scarf Matt bought me on our honeymoon in Mexico), "Arlo doll", Twilight (his turtle that makes stars on the ceiling), Gooey doll (a home made "ugly" doll), purple dinosaur....

:: loves to play with Sam and looks forward to play time every day.

:: LOVES singing and knows all the words to all the songs on the Pete Seeger live children's album we play in the van everyday. It is a great album.

:: still uses the "w" sound in place of the "L" sound and the "R" sound. It is vewy, vewy, adowable.

:: will show up in our bed 4-6 nights a week and loves to cuddle with me on my side of the bed...never in the middle.

:: is becoming very compassionate and is learning to express his emotions verbally, very well.

:: does not like the cold and has expressed to me a number of times that winter is his least favorite season.

:: LOVES being at home all the time wearing his pajamas playing with his brothers...he'll choose this above all other activities.

Remembering August 19th

Matt and I shared three days alone on the Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City, MI in August in celebration of our tenth wedding anniversary. It was very romantic. More later...

Arlo's 4th Birthday

While stuck in bed today (yes, I am sick again...more on that later), I began looking on Etsy at invitations for Arlo's 4th birthday party. He wants to have a "superhero" theme and have all the kids wear capes. I feel like we've done this before, but Arlo LOVES capes.

I can't argue. Capes are cool.

After looking at the 50th card that made me think, "I can do that!"....

I did that.

With inspiration from my artsy friend Melissa, a sharpie marker, a pair of scissors, an old comic book that was falling apart, a glue stick and a blue ink pen;

I made ten very cute birthday invitations.

This one turned out a little dark...I am not sure I will actually use it...but, I like it.


This one might be my favorite.

I can't wait for Arlo to see them tonight.

Being Thankful

I saw this home school project on a waldorf website and loved the message....then a friend in Maine made one with her home schooled kids and I decided to make one with our boys.

Each day we will make a leaf, write something we are thankful for on the leaf and then add it to the tree.
Any visitors we have will be welcome to add a leaf as well.

By Thanksgiving the tree should be full.
Tonight Arlo was thankful for our neighbor Dennis. Otis was thankful for "Arlo" (brothers). Matt was thankful for his once-a-week karate evening with the boys and Sam was thankful for:
I was so proud.

Big Boy

It is pretty obvious what Otis wants these days and it most definitely has everything to do with being a big boy. So...after falling off his changing table last week and then climbing into Arlo's bed at naptime we decided it was time to make the move to a big boy bed. He's made the transition with grace.
His vocabulary list includes:

:: Mama
:: Dada
:: Arlo (which means both "Arlo" and "brother)
:: dog dog
:: ow ow
:: Baba (bottle)
:: all done
:: down
:: no
:: mine
:: upa (up)
:: Star Wars
:: chicken
:: thank you
:: please
:: ire (fire)
:: hot

Chopped, Split and Stacked

When my sister and I were very young our family mostly heated with wood in a large iron wood stove my Dad built. He drew a picture of our house on the door of the stove and I remember looking at the picture and picking out my bedroom window in the drawing.

My Dad would buy or trade for the winter wood and eventually it would be delivered to our house in a large pile of unsplit chunks. We would climb all over the pile and inevitably one of us would end up bleeding or with a nasty splinter! As we grew older we would help each fall by tossing the wood into the house cellar to stack, into the shed to stack or by stacking the wood. Stacking wood was a job that I remember dreading, but now find the smells and sounds of it very comforting.

It was always a family affair and usually that meant friends of my folks and their kids. The more people helping, the faster the job would get done. Now I realize, too, that extra hands means the kids are being watched with extra eyes. Chopping and splitting wood can be dangerous business.

We had a dead Ash tree removed from our front yard last month and over the last two weekends Matt (with help from friends of all ages) chopped, split and stacked the wood.

With the winter-like temperatures (30's), I haven't been going outside too much, a couple days ago Sam, Otis and I bundled up and walked out to look at the woodpile (and I wanted to smell the woodpile). I have been watching the black squirrels climb all over it and I had to see what all the fuss was about.
These strange seed pods fall from our Osage Orange trees which line the west side of our homestead creating a living fence. Every fall we pick up hundreds of the seeds...and the squirrels love to eat them.
Sam came down with a strange virus this week involving a body rash running from his head to his toes. His energy levels decreased (some) and he developed really red patches on his eye lids and under his eyes. Our family doctor recommended keeping him home from school for two days to rest...so we did...and it was really wonderful.
Just beyond the woodpile sits our new compost pile. Matt did lots of reading on home made rapid composters and finally settled on this model made of found pallets and reused PVC pipe. He (and his helpers) spent the better part of two weekends assembling and filling this. We've all enjoyed watching the top of the pile sink and feeling the warm air escaping through the pipes! Science everywhere!
Matt has been working like a horse this fall. Since the end of September he has:
:: butchered 31 broiler hens
:: harvested copious amounts of garden produce, including blue corn and the black beans
:: repaired a failing chicken fence
:: made a variety of house repairs including hanging some coat hooks for me
:: removed an old toilet, moved one working toilet to a new bathroom, and installed a brand new dual flush toilet
:: built and filled the composter
:: chopped, split and stacked the wood from the ash tree

I love him.

Halloween

"Darth Maul"

Arlo's second choice: "Harry Potter"

choice 1: "Dark" Vader

this is a lovely girl at Arlo's school...so sweet...

all three boys have now worn this costume...time to retire the dragonfly...